Onipa'a  a DtBH story
by LadyAzrael1994
Summary: 'Onipa'a: Hawaiian for "stand strong". That's the attitude Niele Wik'a'ni has when it comes to life. Living with her abusive father, her mother dead, Niele has almost no hope anymore. But then she meets Dog the Bounty Hunter and his family...
1. Intro

_Pain. So much pain. Each movement was a new agony as she was hit again and again. She was covered in cuts and bruises, none inflicted by herself. She gasped as the knife flashed down, curling into a ball, trying to fend the man off. A sharp burst pain in her left side and a crunching/grating that went through her from head to toes, jerked her awake._

Lying on the mattress that was her bed, Niele Wik'a'ni felt tears rolling down her face as she tried to keep the flood, caused by the nightmare, in check. Rolling over onto her back she gasped as another burst of pain erupted in her side. She gritted her teeth to keep from crying out, knowing that this was the pain that had awoken her, caused by the two broken ribs in her left side.

Staring up at the ceiling, her mind went back over the night that they had been broken: two days ago, her father had come home high and drunk and had started beating her for "breathing loudly". She sighed, then winced as the sigh jostled her broken ribs. She felt sad, knowing that if anyone were to see her memories, they would think it cruel and unacceptable, yet to Niele, it was a part of life.

Her father had started beating her a little over two years ago, when he had gotten hooked on meth. He would come home late at night after partying with his drug friends, drunk and high, and would wind up hitting his wife and/or daughter for no reason. Niele\s mother had tried to stand up to him but was always beaten back.

He had steadily gotten worse, assaulting people outside his family, stealing from stores and trying to sell drugs to kids. He had gotten arrested a couple times and Niele's mother, Pele, had always, for reasons unfathomable to Niele, bailed him out as soon as he called her from jail. And yet he was never thankful and it had escalated so much that, when he came home one night, he had murdered his own wife as his terrified daughter looked on.

That had been almost a year ago. He had been on the run since then, from both the police and the bail bondsmen, as he had just been bailed out, yet again by her mother, only a few days before he'd killed her.

Being on the run, he would disappear for weeks on end, leaving Niele to fend for herself. Luckily, her mother had left her everything, her will stating clearly that her husband had no control whatsoever over Niele's inheritance.

Niele had never called the police on her father, even though she had seen him kill her mother in front of her eyes. She knew that he would kill her before the police could reach the front steps.

So she'd lived with her father's abuse and neglect for two years, acquiring an impressive list of injuries. Her two broken ribs were only the most recent of these.

Groaning, Niele pulled herself upright, preparing to face the new day, wishing she was still asleep. Because her life was far worse than any nightmare ever would be.


	2. Chapter 1

1. "Oke Wik'a'ni, aka Killer." Duane "Dog" Chapman looked around the room at his family and team. Standing at the whiteboard at the front of the room, he glared around at them. He wasn't mad at _them_, he was just pissed that they hadn't caught the guy yet. Turning, he slammed his fist into the wall.

"Duane! Calm down baby." scolded his wife, Beth. Standing up, she walked over to him and laid a hand on his arm.

"Sorry," he said, "but we've been chasing this piece of shit for almost TWO YEARS Beth! I wanna get this guy!"

"You think I don't know that?" Beth replied. "He's jumping _my_ bond bra. Just calm down and we'll get him." Looking around the room, there were other three people sitting there; two men and a woman. She called to one of the men. "Leland! Description."

"Oke Wik'a'ni aka Killer," reeled off Leland Chapman. "39, 6ft 5in, 220lbs. Samoan, black hair, brown eyes. Wanted for theft, assault, possession of drugs and paraphernalia and suspected murder. Dude," he commented, "this guy's got…" he counted quickly," over 28 arrests with multiple charges in the last two years alone."

"Why do you think you're dad wants to get him so bad, bra?" said Beth.

"Who's the cosigner Baby Lyssa?" Dog asked his daughter. The woman on the couch opened a folder and went down the page.

"Woman by the name of Pele Wik'a'ni, his wife I think," she said.

"Right," said Dog. "We'll try her number first then."

"Right. Her cell is 693-6527."

* * *

><p>Cleaning up after dinner that night, Niele was just putting the dishes away when her father came storming in. she froze where she stood, still holding a dinner plate, and praying he wouldn't notice her. It didn't work.<p>

"STUPID BITCH! WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STANDING THERE?" He was definitely drunk. He flew across the room and backhanded her across the face, causing her to stagger backwards, dropping the plate in the process. It shattered as it hit the floor.

"YOU STUPID SLUT! I LET YOU LIVE IN _MY_ HOUSE AND _THIS_ IS HOW YOU REPAY ME? BREAKING MY DISHES?" He was way past drunk.

He backhanded her again, this time with enough force to knock her to the ground. Grabbing her hair, he pushed her face into the shards of broken glass left from the plate. She cried out in pain.

Laughing, Oke Wik'a'ni walked out of the house, letting the front door slam closed behind him. He left his daughter behind, lying amid bits of broken glass and a pool of her own blood.


	3. Chapter 2

2. "We're sorry, the number you have dialed is currently disconnected. We are sorry for any inconvenience. Please try again later. Thank you."

"Sonovabitch!" yelled Dog as he slammed the phone down.

"What _now_ bra?" asked Leland, walking into the office , followed by Duane Lee.

"Her god damn phone's been disconnected."

"Again? You've been looking for her for hours. Isn't that like, the seventeenth number you've tried?" asked Leland as he flopped down onto the couch.

"Yeah, and they're all either disconnected or belong to someone else!"

"So try her house. Have you tried that yet?"

"Uhh….no."

"You forgot about that didn't you?" laughed Duane Lee, flopping down beside his brother.

"No, I just hadn't gotten around to it yet."

"Sure bra. Did you even _get_ a home number for her?"

"It's not my bond, bra. BETH!" called Dog

"WHAT?" came a shout from Beth's office.

"Do we have a house number for Pele? It's not in this file," replied Dog.

"Hold on, I'm coming," said Beth coming out of her office, holding a folder. "I got it. It's…"

* * *

><p>Holding onto the edge of the counter, Niele pulled herself upright. Staggering to the bathroom, she caught her reflection in the mirror as she reached for a washcloth. The whole right side of her face was cut up and blood was running down her face and neck.<p>

She began washing her face, wincing whenever the cloth snagged on bits of glass, which she picked out. Ten minutes later, her face was relatively clean and the bleeding had almost stopped.

Returning to the kitchen, Niele began to clean up the pieces of broken glass left from the plate. Using paper towels, she also cleaned up the blood from the floor, then went back over the floor with bleach. She then threw the paper towels and broken glass into the garbage can.

As she was finishing, Niele heard the phone ring from the other room. She picked up on the third ring:

"Wik'a'ni residence," she said.

"Pele?" asked a female voice from the other end. Niele felt her heart skip a beat.

"No," she replied.

"Can I speak to her?" asked the woman.

"No."

"Is she there?"

"No."

"Will she be back anytime soon?" asked the woman, starting to sound annoyed.

"No," replied Niele again.

"Are you trying to piss me off girl?"

"No, I'm just answering your questions."

"Are you going to keep answering 'no' to everything?"

"Depends on what you ask bra." Niele was beginning to get annoyed herself.

"Well, do you have a different number I can reach her at?"

"No," repeated Niele, yet again.

"Look sista, I gotta talk to her, NOW. she's the co-signer on a jumped bond so you better just tell me where she is _right now_ or we're gonna come down there and bust your ass, got it bra?"

Niele's heart plummeted; her mother was the co-signer on a jumped bond. She had no doubt who's bond it was. She took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking into the phone again.

"She can't help you with him any more bra."

"And just why not?" came the annoyed reply. Niele took another deep breath, before saying:

"Cause she's dead," then hung up.

* * *

><p>"DUANE!" came a shout from Beth's office. "DUANE!"<p>

"WHAT?" shouted Duane.

"We got a problem," said Beth coming out of her office.

"What is it this time?" asked Duane.

"Our co-signer's dead."

A silence hung in the air as Dog, Duane Lee and Leland all stared at her, then;

"WHAT?"

"SHIT!"

"DAMNIT!"

"How do you know?" asked Dog.

"I called her house, some chick answers, I ask for Pele and the chick tells me she's dead."

"You think she was telling the truth?' asked Lyssa.

"Don't be stupid bra. Why would she lie to us?" retorted Leland.

"Watch it Leland," warned Dog. "Beth?"

"It's possible she was lying," said Beth, "but I don't think so."

"I think we should head over to her house, now, and check it out," said Duane Lee. Everyone looked to Duane and Beth, anticipating a hunt.

"All right everyone. Suit up!" called Duane. "Beth, call Tim and ask him to meet us there." Grinning, Dog grabbed his duffel bag and ran out to the cars.


	4. Chapter 3

3. A screech of tires in the driveway brought Niele to the window on the second floor of her house. Looking out, she saw six people, four men and two women, getting out of cars parked in and at the end of her driveway. The men were all huge and bulky with muscles.

Walking towards the house, one of the men looked up at her. He shouted and pointed. The others ran for the front door as Niele turned away from the window and ran too.

She ran up the stairs two at a time. She could hear pounding coming from the front door, followed by a crash as the door flew open and bounced off the wall. She cursed herself for not locking it.

Dashing into her room, Niele slammed the door shut. Running to her closet, she opened it and squeezed into it. Ducking down, she huddled amid a pile of laundry, trying to hide in the pile. She heard pounding feet and shouts coming from throughout the house.

Two pairs of footsteps were drawing nearer to her room. The door flew open and she saw two pairs of boots through the slats of the closet door. They crossed the room and stopped at the closet. The door opened and a hand grabbed her from behind, pulling her out of the closet and into the middle of her room.

Niele, was pulled over and flipped onto her stomach as a pair of hands pushed her down and kept her there. She cried out in pain as her face was pressed into the floor. She felt blood begin to trickle down her face again.

"Shut it bitch," came a gruff voice from behind her. Another pair of hands, gentler than the first, pulled her wrists behind her and cuffed them together. The pressure lifted from her shoulders and she turned over and was on her knees before the people behind her could grab her again.

Looking up at the two men, she felt her eyes go wide and she swore to herself. She recognised them all too easily. The taller one had short, dark hair and was wearing a baseball cap. The shorter one had long brown hair pulled back in a ponytail.

The shorter of the two reached out a hand and took a hold her of her arm to help her to her feet, then led her out of her room and through the house to the front door. As they walked, Niele began to feel dizzy and was glad for the support available from the hand under her arm.

On the front step, Niele looked around. She saw the other four people standing around the driveway, waiting for them. Seeing them close up, she recognised the rest of them quickly. The taller of the men behind her passed her and went to talk to a man with long, loose blond hair. The one holding her arm turned to her and asked:

"Will you stay here if I let you go?" Niele nodded. There was no way she'd try to run. For one thing, she wasn't stupid. She knew who these people were and she did not want to be on their bad side. For another, she didn't want to disappoint this guy, for some reason.

"Make one move and we'll be on you," he warned her.

"I know. I'll stay," she replied. He nodded to her then walked over to talk with the others. Watching them, Niele thought the night seemed to be foggy. But that didn't make sense, she told herself. It hadn't been foggy earlier. She blinked, trying to clear her vision but the fog stayed, and if anything, increased.

The world began to spin as one of the women looked towards Niele. All of a sudden, she felt her legs give way beneath her and she fell down the steps to the ground below. Gasping for breath, she saw the woman running towards her, shouting something, before the darkness engulfed her.

* * *

><p>Hearing Beth shouting, Dog turned around and saw the girl they'd caught, lying on the front walk. He dashed across the lawn towards her. Beth made it to her first. Turning the girl onto her side, Beth quickly checked her pulse and breathing; both were there but her breathing was bordering on gasping.<p>

"Someone give me a cuff key!" Beth shouted over her shoulder. No one moved. Looking around, she yelled again; "Someone get me a god damn key!"

Leland stepped forward, dug a key out of his pocket and handed it to her. Uncuffing the girl, Beth rolled her onto her back and checked her over. She found cuts covering the girls face with dried and fresh blood surrounding them, as well as a couple broken ribs and dozens of fresh bruises and scrapes.

"Goddamn it, Duane, what the hell did you do to her?" Beth turned on her husband.

"We didn't do anything!" he shouted back. "After Tim spotted her, she ran and hid so we searched, found her in a closet, cuffed her and brought her out here. That's it!"

"You _sure _'bout that Duane? Cause, USUALLY when we cuff someone, they don't end up looking like they've fallen through a plate glass window! Stop bullshitting me Duane. She didn't get her face cut up and her ribs broken by HIDING FROM YOU!"

"He didn't do nothing Beth. None of us did," Leland spoke up. "She was like that when we pulled her out of the closet and cuffed her."

"That's another thing; why did you cuff her in the first place? She definitely ain't Wik'a'ni and that's who we're lookin for bra," said Beth, turning to Duane Lee and Leland.

"We KNOW who we're lookin for Beth,' retorted Duane Lee. "We grabbed her cuz she lied to us."

"How so?"

"She told you she was dead and she obviously isn't.:

"WHO isn't dead Duane Lee?"

"OUR CO-SIGNER!"

"So then where is she?"

"Right in front of you! You go blind all of a sudden?"

"Watch yourself Duane Lee Chapman. You're treading on thin ice," replied Beth coldly.

"Whatever Beth. Can we go now?"

"NO!" She turned to Dog. "This isn't our co-signer Duane. She's way too young, can't be much more than 16 or 17. She must be Pele's daughter they look so much alike." Looking down at the girl, Duane could see his wife's point. Damn. He hated wasting time on hunts.

"Damn it," he muttered. Turning to Beth, he opened his mouth but she cut him off. "Don't apologise to me Duane. It's _her_ you and Duane Lee traumatised." She was right and everyone knew it.

"C'mon," she said." We gotta get her inside." Duane stepped forward and bent down, scooping her up into his arms. He waked inside, carrying her, and everyone followed. As he passed her, Duane Lee looked at Beth and muttered an apology. Beth nodded and followed him inside, closing the door behind them.


	5. Chapter 4

hi! sorry, i know i left it hanging but i started on my other story "one mistake" and kind of got hooked :P in case you arent aware, IM IN HWAII! HELLZ YA! haha so chapters 4 and 5 of `Onipa`a are for **thekeeperoftime **:) enjoy and hang loose brah :)

**...**

4. Niele was lying on something soft; her couch, she decided. She felt something wt and cold on the right side of her face, accompanied by stinging. She became aware of voices around her, people speaking quietly throughout the room. A hand bumped her ribs and she gasped sharply.

"Mom! She's awake!" a voice called softly from close beside her. The hand withdrew and another hand settled on Niele's forehead, brushing hair away from her face. She winced as the hand passed over some cuts on her forehead and she opened her eyes.

Looking down at her was a large, blonde woman with her hand resting on Niele's hair, a worried expression on her face.

"Hey there honey," the woman said softly, "you alright?" Looking around, Niele saw that all six of the men and women who had pulled into her driveway, were now positioned around the living room. Remembering what had happened, Niele pushed herself up quickly into a sitting position but gasped in pain as her ribs protested this sudden movement.

"No, no, no, no, NO!" looking around at them all, Niele recognised them only too easily. "No, no, no!" she repeated, her eyes wide and fearful.

"You're…not alright?" asked the girl sitting across from Niele.

"No! you have to leave. Now!" Standing up, she pulled the girl up out of her seat, grimacing in pain, and began pushing her towards the door.

"Hey! Stop it!" the girl protested.

"No. You have to leave. All of you. Right now!" Glancing at the clock, Niele turned back to the woman now sitting on the sofa. Grabbing hold of the woman's hands, Niele tried to pull her up. The room began to spin and Niele had to grab onto a table to keep herself upright.

"Oh no, bra. We're not leaving, ESPECIALLY as you can't even stand on your own two feet," countered the woman. With a hold on Niele's hand, the woman pulled her back down onto the sofa.

"Please Beth! You _have _to leave!" Beth's eyebrows rose. "I _do_ have a TV you know," said Niele, " and I know who you are and who…" Niele snapped her mouth shut, realising what she'd almost said.

"'Who' what?" asked the man with long blonde hair.

"I can't Dog. Please! You need to go!" begged Niele. "If you don't…."

"Is that a threat?" barked the older of the two boys from across the room.

"NO! No, definitely not! Please, you don't understand. If you don't leave, you'll…he…he'll….I'll be…." And with that, Niele burst into tears.

* * *

><p>Carefully pulling the girl into her arms, Beth just sat there, letting the girl cry herself out. When she finally stopped sobbing, Beth pulled away and wiped the tears from the girl's face.<p>

"feeling better?" she asked. The girl nodded. "Good. Now, first thing's first; what's your name honey?"

"Niele," the girl replied softly.

"Niele what?"

"Wik'a'ni," she whispered. Beth nodded. Glancing up, she caught Dog's eye and flashed him a warning look. Looking back at the girl, Niele, Beth asked: "You live here?" A nod. "You're the one I talked to on the phone?" Another nod. "How did you know Pele?" Beth asked kindly.

"She was my mother, replied Niele, holding back tears.

"Shhh," soothed Beth, "It's okay baby girl, it's okay."

"It's NOT though!" cried Niele.

"Why not? Explain it to me."

"I can't, he'll kill me!" Eyes widening, Niele clapped her hands to her mouth. Beth caught the look flashing around the room.

Changing directions, she asked: "You know who we are and what we do right?" Niele nodded, hands still over her mouth. "So you either know or can guess at why we're here." A gulp and a slow nod followed this question as Niele slowly lowered her hands.

"Honey, you know who we're looking for, don't you," said Beth. It wasn't a question. Tears rolled down her cheeks again as Niele shook her head.

"I can't help you," she said, eyes down, voice quavering.

"Liar!" came a shout from across the room.

"Shut up Duane Lee!" yelled Beth and Dog at the same time. Looking at Niele, Beth knew she wouldn't be able to get anything else out of her with everyone else around. "Everyone out!" she called.

Four heads turned to stare at her; Duane wasn't really surprised. This was Beth's area of expertise, not his.

"What? No way!" shouted Duane Lee. "She's a lying bitch!"

"SHUT UP DUANE LEE!" shouted everyone. Dog began shepherding everyone out of the house. As he was about to close the door, he heard a quiet voice; "Dog, whoever comes up that driveway, be careful." The door shut behind him.

* * *

><p>As the door closed, Beth pulled out her radio and flicked the off switch, then turned back to Niele.<p>

"Why did you just warn him like that?" she asked.

"Because I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me," Niele answered.

"And why would anyone be hurt because of you?"

"Because…..because…._he'd_ hurt them….and you."

Changing tact again, Beth decided to change the subject and ask a different question.

"Honey, how'd you get cut up so bad?" Subconsciously, Niele raised a hand to her cut and bruised face and looked away from Beth as she answered:

"I…I dropped a plate."

"On your face?"

"…No?" was the hesitant reply.

"So how'd your face get cut up then?"

"I fell."

"You fell." A nod. "And you ground your own face into the pieces of glass?" It was rhetorical and Beth didn't wait for a reply. "How about the broken ribs? And all the bruises? You got all those when you 'fell' too?"

"I…I can't tell you!" cried Niele.

"Shh, it's okay. Fine, you can't tell me. Calm down girl. You're safe now" soothed Beth.

"No I'm not," muttered Niele. "None of us are. No one is safe here."

"And why's that?" Beth asked. Before Niele could answer, a screech of tires on the driveway came to them from outside, followed by shouting.

"Because of this," replied Niele simply as Beth pushed herself to her feet, staring at the door. Her words were followed almost immediately by a loud crack and a scream.


	6. Chapter 5

5. Waiting. The waiting was always the worst, thought Tim. Especially when they had no idea who they were waiting for or what was going to happen. Looking around the yard from his position on one side of the driveway, hidden by a tall hedge, he could see Dog on the other side of the driveway; Baby Lyssa was on the porch, Leland across the street and he knew Duane Lee was around back, just in case.

Cars whizzed by on the street, people passed on foot, while they sat and waited. Fifteen minutes later, an old battered pickup came barreling down the street. Just before it passed by the Wik'a'ni driveway, the driver slammed on the brakes and skidded around the corner into the yard.

"Careful everyone" came Dog's voice over the radio, "this might be our guy."

Remembering the warning the girl had given them, Tim unhooked his mace from its straps and carefully stretched out his muscles, ready for action.

As the truck's engine stopped and its' lights flicked off, the driver's door opened and a man stepped out. From where he stood, Tim couldn't tell if it was Wik'a'ni or not. Looking around, the man spotted Lyssa on the front step.

"Who the hell are you bitch?" he yelled down the driveway at her.

"Watch it Lyssa, this is our guy," came Dog over the radio. "No one spook him. Leland, Duane Lee, get around front here and block him in. Beth, our guys here: stay inside with the girl." Static was his only answer. "Beth?" no answer. "Damnit," he muttered, "Anyone got radio on Beth?" All replies came back negative.

"Well ya stupid slut? What the hell ya doin on my steps?"

"You Oke Wik'a'ni?" called Lyssa.

"What's it to ya cunt?"

"Watch how you're talking to my daughter Wik'a'ni!" yelled Dog, stepping out from where he'd been standing. Following his lead, Tim stepped out from behind the hedge and started towards Wik'a'ni, while Leland and Duane Lee came around the house from each side, blocking him in the driveway.

"Who the hell are you?" shouted Wik'a'ni. "Why the fuck you all in my yard?"

"I'm Dog Chapman," Dog answered."You've been jumping my wife's bond for two years Wik'a'ni and I'm getting sick of trying to track you down."

"So _you're_ the fuckin bounty hunter? Well _Dog_, you can kiss my ass!" reaching through the open driver's door, Oke pulled out a gun, took aim at Baby Lyssa, and fired.

Watching her family coming out of their hiding places, from the front steps Lyssa could hear the shouted exchange between her dad and Wik'a'ni. She was just getting ready to turn around and go into the house when she caught a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye.

Whipping back around, Lyssa watched, momentarily paralyzed, as Wik'a'ni pulled a rifle from his truck and took aim right at her. Unfreezing, she threw herself aside just before the shot rang out, thudding into the door where her head had just been and raining wood splinters down on her.

She screamed as she rolled down the steps, landing hard on the front walk, where she lay, winded and in pain, as she heard the fight begin.

* * *

><p>As Wik'a'ni pulled the trigger and the shot rang out, Dog threw himself on the guy in a full-on football tackle. His heart went cold as he heard Baby Lyssa scream.<p>

A wave of helplessness and fear washed over him; he had no time to look for his daughter as Wik'a'ni fought to get away again, hitting Dog squarely in the jaw with an uppercut to the chin.

Dazed, Dog's grip on Wik'a'ni loosened, enough for him to pull a knife from his pants. Now fighting for his own life, Dog didn't have the luxury of sparing thoughts for Lyssa.

Just in time, Tim and Duane Lee tackled Oke from behind, twisting the knife from his hands, flipping him face down and jamming handcuffs onto his wrists.

Duane now had thoughts for nothing and no one but his daughter; as he was helped up by Leland, he looked towards Baby Lyssa, who was lying motionless at the foot of the stairs.


End file.
